Product Review: Uncle Harry's All-Natural Tooth Powder

I don't know why, but whenever I use "regular" toothpaste, my teeth decide to go all sensitive on me.  Whitening toothpastes are especially horrible for causing this, but I am talking about the regular toothpaste doing this!

I thought that maybe this was normal and just one of those things I had to accept, and bought into buying the Sensitive Toothpaste. (which at one point definitely came back to bite me)

When I was first diagnosed with multiple food allergies (13+), I was told by my allergist to avoid all of my allergens and their botanical families. Sheesh, was that a hard thing to do! This knocked out every toothpaste that I could buy at any local store (not to mention other run-of-the-mill personal care products). They all contained corn, soy, and/or coconut(sodium lauryl sulfate, anyone?).

So, I was down to using baking soda and salt. And guess what? My sensitive teeth miraculously became not-sensitive! And without the use of Sensitive Teeth toothpaste!

I have no explanation as to how or why, but that is what happened to me. I'm open to any ideas.

Now that I am doing better food-wise, I can use pretty much any toothpaste. But, I still get the sensitive-teeth issue if I use regular(or natural, for that matter) toothpaste on a regular basis.

Enter Uncle Harry's All-Natural Tooth Powder.

I picked this up at Lehman's last spring on a whim. (love that place!) And I have been using it ever since.

I like it because:

1. It cleans much better than any paste that I have used.
2. My teeth aren't sensitive when I am using this on a regular basis
3. It doesn't contain tons of chemicals and unpronounceable ingredients.
4. As far as I can figure, it does NOT contain Gluten, Corn, or Soy.
5. It is Made in the USA (check your toothpaste label--it might not be!)

So, there it is, folks. Now you know what I am currently using on my teeth, and why!  :-D

BioAllergenix Treatment Today: SOY, Licorice and Fragrances

I went to the chiro today for both chiropractic and allergy.

I suspected a few things and brought them in. Many of them seem fine with muscle testing, but the worst one for me was the DGL Licorice that I was taking over a month ago to hopefully aid in gut healing and was getting extremely chapped lips from.

I described my eating-out experiences and requested testing for preservatives, soy, tomato and peppers. The only one that I had problems with, according to muscle testing, is SOY(again!). UGH! I don't know why this keeps creeping up on me!

I also mentioned my issues (itchy throat) with fragrances(like what's in liquid soaps and dishwasher detergent, and the like--I was doing fine this morning until I washed my hands in the chiro's restroom with their scented soap and afterwards had a short stint of itchy throat).

I was treated today for SOY, Licorice and Fragrances.

Now, off to see what I can fix for our dinner today w/o SOY.....and not going to be doing the dishes until tomorrow, just to be safe on the fragrance side of things(as well as soy--don't know for sure what is in the dishsoap/detergent).

Treated today: Soy and Rice

I went in to make sure the red pepper and xanthan gum treatment held. So far, it has.

I also brought in some things that I have suspected reactions to. Turns out the Soy truly was and is a culprit for the near-instantaneous skin breakout the other day. So I got treated for that.

And I also suspected rice, because on this gluten-free thing I'm doing, I have tried Tinkyada rice pasta and Arrowhead Puffed Rice and had what I suspected as being reactions(the pasta made my stomach/gut hurt, the rice cereal caused itching and lower-GI aching). Sure enough, something about the Rice is not good for my body. I am in the process of contacting companies and figuring out cross-contamination issues with them.

Same with my vanilla--need to check the ingredients on it.

So: today I was treated for Soy and Rice. Which makes me want to continue to avoid SOY-GMO and otherwise-- as much as possible and not even have it on the odd batch of coleslaw anymore. I need to find a different mayo or a different coleslaw dressing recipe. And stick to non-processed rice.


I am still doing the Gluten-free/Tomato-free thing. Potatoes and red peppers checked out fine today(woo-hoo!) so they are potentially back in my diet.  I do feel a lot better avoiding Gluten/Tomatoes, though I admit to wanting to imbibe in pita chips, shortbread or that last box of Girl Scout cookies lurking in the cupboard...mayhap I should put those cookies in the back of the freezer...or feed them to my kids. :)

What a Corn/Soy/Coconut Allergic Person Can Eat

Being allergic to Corn, Soy and Coconut sure brings one's average American lifestyle to a screeching halt. Adding Peanuts, Tree nuts(specifically pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans, but avoiding all), Peas, Tomatoes, Potatoes(and Peppers and Eggplant by default since they are in the same family), Garlic, Mushroom, Celery and Cauliflower to the list of foods to avoid makes it all the more interesting to find what I *could* eat.

It took me about 2 weeks of research to figure out the basic foods that I could eat and not be consuming my allergens or other foods in their families.

Along with the Food Families list I was given by my conventional allergist, I found this Botanical Food Family List to be very helpful.

Using this botanical list, I sat down and compiled a basic list of what I could eat. A list of "Yes, you can eat these foods!" was far more uplifting than a list of "No, you cannot eat these foods!".


Even with my list compiled, I still had to be very careful of corn and soy derivatives, so there were unwritten rules to go with this list as well. I couldn't just give this list to someone and expect to have an allergen-free meal.


WHAT I COULD EAT-The Basic List
Proteins:
~Meats were my basic protein source, since beans were out of the question(being related to soy, peas and peanuts). I looked for basic, simple meats with no additives if at all possible. Grass-fed/Free-range was much preferred but not always available.
~Eggs (note that for some corn-allergic people, corn-fed chicken eggs can cause reactions)
~Milk products(note that for some corn-allergic people, the fortifications in milk are most often based in corn oil and cause problems). Most cheeses have corn added at some point, whether the coloring agent in yellow cheeses, the vinegar in cheeses such as mozzarella, the enzymes in some cheeses, or the starch added to pre-shredded varieties or to the wrappers. I generally stuck to white blocks or sticks of cheese, or an imported parmesan and tried to have cheese in moderation(not every day).

I made my own yogurt for awhile, and have recently started making kefir and having that every day.

Fruits:
~Apples(risky due to corny waxes, but local ones were fine)
~Blueberries-usually frozen
~Craisins(Original only)-they do contain cane/beet sugar and a small amount of sunflower oil
~Elderberries
~Figs(dried w/no preservatives)
~Grapes/Raisins(being careful of molds, which are common in grapes, and any additives)
~Lemons(other citrus bothered me until recently)
~Melons with caution-(again, the potential mold being the factor, as well as its' connection with ragweed allergy)
~Mulberries
~Pears(same risk as the apples)
~Pears-Canned in Pear juice
~Rhubarb

Vegetables:
~Beets
~Black Olives(read labels)
~Carrots-frozen w/o cornstarch, or Bunny Luv brand, which are NOT rinsed in citric acid
~Chard
~Cucumbers
~Green Beans
~Lettuce--look for "no preservatives" on the label, which is not a guarantee of no corn but more possible than those not showing that label
~Okra
~Spinach-fresh, "no preservatives", or frozen or canned(read labels)
~Squash-including zucchini and yellow squash and winter squashes
~Sweet Potatoes

Grains/"Grains":
~Buckwheat-for flour as well as for hot cereal-being careful/aware of potential cross-contamination in the mills
~Quinoa-as flour and as a hot cereal
~Arrowroot powder(to make my own baking powder and as a substitute for corn starch)
~Tapioca-as a powder/flour (such as in the Chebe mixes), as well as a cold treat(homemade tapioca pudding)

Baking items:
~Homemade baking powder
~Sunflower oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Safflower Oil
~Homemade Vanilla
~King Arthur Flours
~Beet Sugar(Walmart's Great Value brand is often derived from beets) until you rule out Cane sugar as OK
~Maple syrup-the real thing, read labels
~Hershey's Cocoa Powder
~EnjoyLife Chocolate Chips
~Butter--NOT the kind with 'natural flavors', the salted is much less likely to contain corn derivatives. Check the list for promising brands.
~Apple Cider Vinegar--NOT Heinz

Beverages:
~Mott's Natural Pressed Apple Juice--should only have Apple Juice and water in the list, no citric/ascorbic acids
~Virgil's Cream Soda
~Jones Soda Cream Soda ONLY
~Izze Sparkling Juices
~Metromint flavored waters
~Tea-bulk is best, as many tea bags have potential of containing corn. I believe Lipton tea bags are fine.
~Coffee(?)-there is much debate as to whether there are corn derivatives in coffee. It seems to be on an individual basis as to whether it bothers you. I can't do more than one or at most two cups a day without it bothering me.
~Hot cocoa-made with milk, safe cocoa powder and sugar or maple syrup

Treats:
~Yummy Earth Lollipops and Candy Drops--Contact them for specific details on which flavors are safe. I used the vitamin C ones as a source of vitamin C, since all of the supplements contained citric acid derived from corn. I particularly like the Roadside Root Beer and the Cheeky Lemon.
~Pork Rinds-not really a "treat", but something to fill my belly that was fairly easy to find and safe as long as I could find them with ONLY salt
~Sunflower Seeds-no special flavors, only the salted/unsalted kind. I did ok with Dave's brand.
~Pumpkin Seeds-Dave's brand is what was relatively easy to find. I prefer raw pumpkin seeds mixed with Craisins and some EnjoyLife Chocolate Chips for a snack.


So, there you have it. The basic menu I lived off of for about 10 months!

Conventional Allergist Care

Back to the continuation of the allergy story. :)

I am writing all this in hopes of helping others that find themselves diagnosed with multiple food allergies. In my research and experience, people diagnosed with multiple food allergies are given very little information or resources(unless they are top 8 allergens) and are left to fend for themselves. It is easy to feel alone, overwhelmed and somewhat desperate. The good news is that it doesn't have to stay that way. I have learned a lot, and as I seek health and start feeling better, I want to pass the information on to others that might benefit from it.

So, I had suspected Salicylate Sensitivity and gone on a low-sal diet for a time. I felt a little better, but not significantly so.

Finally, in the spring of last year, I went in to my family doctor and told her all my sorrows. She promptly referred me to an allergist, where my eyes were opened even further as to just how far-reaching my allergies were.

The allergist talked with me for a bit about my symptoms and what I suspected as allergens and what I was doing about it(Claritin wasn't working). I told him that I really suspected Salicylates, and he told me there was no test for that. Then he ordered skin prick testing on both arms. One arm with 74 pricks testing for pollens, molds, and epithelials(dust mites, cat and dog dander, etc) and one arm with 71 pricks testing for foods.

The two nurses did the skin pricking and left the room, telling me not to move or scratch my arms. When they returned, they were amazed at the array of reactions and told me I won the prize of the day for most/worst reactions. (I should have asked them at that point if the prize was not having to pay for the testing, lol.)

For pollens/molds/epithelials, I reacted to all trees except evergreen needled types, about 2/3 of the molds they tested for, cat dander, dog dander, dust mites and guinea pigs.

For foods, I reacted to Corn, Soy, Coconut, Peanut, Pecan, Pistachio, Hazelnut, Garlic, Mushroom, Celery, Cauliflower, Tomato and Potato. The severity of the reaction is measured on a scale of 1-4. Soy was a 2 and the rest were between a 3-4++.

I was told to take Zyrtec every day(but I questioned the wisdom in that since Zyrtec contains obvious corn, and he then said to take Claritin. Claritin also has obvious corn in it, and I later changed to a store brand with at least lesser corn.)

I was given a list of food families and told to avoid all of my food allergens AND THEIR FAMILIES (as well as the foods not on the list that I knew I reacted to already) for at least 3 weeks. After a week of having no allergic symptoms, I could add one food a week. If I reacted to that food, then I would have to go off of it and not introduce a new food until I had one full week of no allergic reactions.

Oh, and if I wanted to treat the pollen allergies, I could sign up and get the immunotherapy shots for 2-5 years. But the understanding there is that it does NOTHING for foods, other than to hope that if the pollen allergies lessen, my immune system might tolerate these foods again.

Sounds relatively simple, right? A few rules, but not too bad (Hey, I'm trying to be positive here!).

I started the diet, and then, not knowing what else to do(and not wanting my allergies to increase to the point of anaphlaxis, as my allergist suggested might happen), I signed up for the shots.

Little did I know the Challenges in store for me.

Allergies - The Saga Begins

I have had hayfever my entire life, as long as I can remember. It was seasonal, and while living in Colorado it would start when the trees started blooming and end when everything was frosted in the fall. No biggie, really, as long as I remembered to take my antihistamine.

In college, I began to notice that my throat/palate would itch when I ate or drank anything peach flavored. Things like Lipton Peach Iced Tea or Peach Snapple or even Peach Jolly Ranchers would 'get me'. And on the rare occasion that I ate a fresh peach, sometimes that would 'get me' too. But not always. Go figure.

Randy and I got married and about two years into our marriage we moved to Ohio. For a time, my allergies were actually BETTER, which isn't unheard of when moving to a new location. As expected, my body decided to react to the local pollens a year or two later--and with Ohio's summer seasons being longer, the much higher humidity, and the overall warmer climate, my body had plenty to complain about!

Four years into our marriage, Duncan was born and we moved back to CO. Again, my allergies kinda subsided--or else they were just less since we were back in the dry, short-seasoned, less-growing environment. I continued to react to peach things(and even craved them madly, which is an ironic thing with my being allergic to it). I believe I also was reacting to orange juice at this time, but not enough to give it up.

Six years into our marriage, we had moved back to Ohio and a few months after that Hunter was born. I was given antibiotics in the hospital which might have something to do with my state of health in the long run... I kind of sank into a depressed state at this time, operating on little sleep and learning how to parent 2 kids in (what was to me) a foreign environment, far away from blood relation. I think it was at this point that I felt my body had started to rebel against me. To betray me.

Two years later, eight years into our marriage, Ivy was born. I was able to have a natural birth this time around(yeah!) and felt much more in control of my world. BUT, the August following the June birth was the ABSOLUTE WORST Ragweed Season of my life (followed by the next two Augusts). I was nursing and afraid to take antihistamines on a regular basis lest they reduce my milk supply. It was around this time that I started making correlations to what I was eating and how my body was responding and started to really research what the heck was going on with my body. I was finding out that I was really reacting to a lot more foods than I originally thought, if I paid attention to my body and what I was eating.

I had thought maybe it was Oral Allergy Syndrome, a condition where your body mistakes the proteins in certain foods for the proteins of pollens you are allergic to, and reacts accordingly. I was working off of this assumption, until one day I reacted to raw broccoli. It was the only thing I had consumed for a few hours, and the reaction was unmistakable and almost immediate. It was an itchy palate and itchy ears that was just about enough to drive me insane, along with the runny nose and sneezing. After taking a Benadryl, I went back to researching.

After not much research, I found a few sites describing Salicylate Sensitivity. And, come to find out, just about ALL of the foods I was reacting to on a regular basis were moderately high to very high in Salicylates!
So, for a time I went on a low-salicylate diet. I felt vaguely better, but was still struggling mightily. So, back to the research.

Here are some of my symptoms that could occur by themselves or in any combination:
~ Almost instant palate itching when coming into contact with an offending substance
~Ears itching
~Eyes itching/corners irritated and red and burning
~Nose itching
~Drainage down my throat
~Sneezing
~Stuffy nose/inability to breathe through my nose(I hadn't been able to breathe through my nose since Ivy had been born until she was about 3 years old!)
~Redness/irritation at the corners of my mouth leading to cracking, especially after consuming anything in the nightshade family(tomatoes, peppers, etc). It would heal only after I was no longer exposed to the offending food.
~Difficulty swallowing
~I felt like I was living in a fog the years after dd(my third) was born. Probably for longer than that, now that I think of it.
~I would get tunnel vision type symptoms, could not concentrate for the life of me, difficulty multitasking, very extreme irritability/depression, overwhelmed by/oversensitive to places like Walmart with all the smells and colors and once you get up to the front to check out the beeping would nearly drive me insane.
~Skin feeling like it was crawling and there was nothing there to be seen. Skin that burned/hurt/itched but again, nothing visible
~Eye twitches
~Skin breakouts
~Horribly chapped lips that just would not heal until no longer exposed.(corn in meds does this to me)
~Stiffness/soreness from the base of my skull to my shoulders. Last fall it radiated down one arm for awhile. I got a massage from a friend in massage school who said I was very tense there...so maybe that was all stress. I do know that today I was fine in that regard until I went in and got my allergy shot, though, so I think it has something to do with allergies...
~Jaw Pain.
~Fatigue, lack of energy and stamina.
~Digestive issues-heartburn/acid reflux, stomach pain/pain on lower right side under ribs after eating, constipation
~Changes in my cycles

I believe that covers it for now.
More tomorrow! There is hope!